#24 - Living Among the Locals

It’s been over 6 weeks since I’ve blogged and you might be wondering what happened to Mr. and Mrs. Pick.  We finished up our two months stay in Devonport and are now “on the move”, traveling south.  

So how did we spend those two months?  Our intention was to mingle with the locals and find out what it is like to live in New Zealand.  And that we did.   We knew nobody when we arrived and now we have several new Kiwi friends.  That happened primarily because of two organizations - Rotary and the Masons. 

Rotarians are an amazing bunch of people.  You can go anywhere in the world where there is a Rotary Club and attend a meeting.  We checked out meetings in several neighboring towns and were given an amazing warm welcome wherever we went.  The net result was invitations to all kinds of events around town, including Christmas parties and several dinners at the homes of those generous people.

And because Jeff is a Mason, we met even more people when he connected with his NZ “brothers” in the Auckland area.  As a result of those connections, we were invited to all kinds of functions and experienced their amazing Kiwi hospitality.

So here are a couple of highlights that stand out.

The day we arrived in Devonport we went to a Rotary meeting held at the town’s volunteer Fire Department.  I was adorned with a helmet and shown how to use the hose to douse a fire.  There were a few chuckles when all I could manage was a little squirt from the hose. Not even enough force to knock over a mosquito.  (Notice firefighter in the back on the right giving me a  “she’s hopeless” look).

But then, with some coaching from the Chief, I manifested a full blast strong enough to take down a brick wall!  A new career for me?  They no longer slide down a pole inside the station, which would be the only reason I’d consider the job.  Yahoo!   

While we were in Devonport we met New Zealand movie Director, Danny Phillips, who just finished his latest movie, “No Turning Back”.   We were among a select few people invited to the Premiere of the movie held at the Victoria Theater (“The Vic”).  Just going to the theatre itself was a treat.  It’s the oldest purpose-built cinema building still standing in the Southern Hemisphere.  

After the movie we had a ‘meet and greet’ with the actors and crew (picture below of main actors with Danny in grey jacket).  It was cool to watch a movie and then immediately meet all the actors!  Everyone was so down to earth and without any Hollywood “airs”.  Danny turned over all the proceeds from the Premiere to the Rotary Club toward their fund raising efforts.  And we enjoyed the topic of the movie - a man who volunteers to travel to Mars but neglects to mention it to his family.  And it’s a one way trip! 

Jeff attended several Masonic meetings, one of which was the Royal Order of Scotland.  As a special treat they served haggis, which for some crazy reason they enjoy eating.  I’ll save you the trouble of looking it up.  It’s sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs with minced onion, oatmeal, suet and spices encased in the animals’s stomach. 

Jeff told me I don’t need to bother getting the recipe.  But he might consider joining this group just so he can wear a kilt and carry a sword.  And he is looking into getting a bag pipe tutor when we get back to Florida.  I have already placed an order for super-duper ear plugs, just in case he goes through with this.   Anyone have a spare room I can rent?

It was an honor for him to attend these various meetings and learn about the different customs and rituals.  If he doesn’t go with the kilt and bag pipe, then he might go for the “Pope look” which was the customary garb at another Lodge.  That’s Jeff on the left (in picture below).

Several of the Masonic functions included spouses.  At one of the meetings we met a lovely couple who live on an island which is a 50 minute ferry ride from Auckland.   They invited us to come stay with them on Waiheke Island (another example of such warm Kiwi hospitality).  We couldn’t stay overnight but Jack and Vera spent the day taking us around the island, including a stop for lunch at a beautiful vineyard with great views and wonderful wine!

                               Enjoying the day at the Batch vineyard on Waiheke Island

Other highlights include an invitation to a concert by the Royal New Zealand Navy Band (they’re very good).  And our new Rotarian friends, Alan and Pam, invited us to a Christmas concert sung and performed all in Russian! Their son is marrying one of the lead singers in the group.  The costumes were amazing!